I am in the fortunate position of now living in a house, the previous owner of which has a large pergola smothered with a green grapevine. They had previously cut it back well and the crop is pendulous and fattening. There are lots of bunches of grapes, still fairly small. How do I know if these are going to fatten into dessert grapes or wine grapes? No snorting please, I don't know anything about grape vines!
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I heard on the grapevine that (a) you should avoid touching the bunches (b) prune mercilessly - getting rid of at least half those pendulous fattening bunches, pour encourager les autres, and (c) with long pointed scissors or pruners be equally merciless with each bunch, getting rid of at least half of each bunch's grapes now. (d) maybe repeat processes (b) and (c) as August becomes September.
You want quality rather than just quantity.
No doubt, some real vinologist, viticulturist, oenophile or faeciologist will come on here and tell you I'm talking shite!
My parents have two vines in their garden. They grew them not for the grapes but the leaves to make
goubebyia (Stuffed vine leaves). They have on only a few occassions have what my dad called a good crop of grapes. If i remember this followed hot long summers. He'd eat them straight off the vine. One had red grapes which were sometimes edible but the other produced big sour grapes, You could not eat them. My father cuts these right back every year (March ) but they still grow back year after year
I'm a keen wine maker, you can do a lot with the plant even if the grapes don't fully ripen. Use the big leaves for stuffed vine leaves, the trick is to use lots of fresh herbs like mint and dill - Yasar Hallim will supply big bunches of both. You can use the prunings to make wine - a lot of the goodness that goes into fruit goes into the shoots. Try getting some white grape concentrate from the winemaking aisle of Wilkos at Wood Green and use to boost any wines you make, it really makes all the difference.
Hi,
as far as I know you can eat every type of grapes, or at least we do so in Italy. Obviously taste and consistency varies, wine grapes usually has thick skin but is however edible. I believe grapes will be ready in October-November in London.
I'm not on the opinion that you should remove bunches. Instead, after harvesting you should cut the majority of branches, keep just two or three of them per tree for next year. The branches that you leave should be the most strong and healthy, and attached at the pergola. After winter, vines will start again in growing branches, leaves and then grapes.
Hope this could help you.
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